Bodybuilder to make pro debut April 28

By Leo D. Rommel

Next week, Shaun Clarida will be punching his ticket for the Cayman Islands.
For business, not pleasure.

The 5-foot-3 inch, 136-pound Rider graduate student turned bodybuilder is scheduled to make his professional debut on April 28 at the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation (WNBF) Pro Natural Mr./Ms. Universe, held inside the Lion’s Centre in George Town, Grand Cayman, the largest of three islands that make up the region.

According to event promoter and former WNBF Mr. Universe Champion Tiger Wilson, the competition will have approximately 800 spectators in attendance, and more than $12,000 will be given away in prizes. Because the men will be divided into two weight classes and women into just one, $1,200 will be awarded to the men’s first place winner and $1,700 to the women’s first place winner.

Because registration forms are sent to the organization’s headquarters in New York, the number of competitors in the contest remains undetermined.

“I am more excited than nervous,” said Clarida. “I was undefeated in 2006 and not to sound overconfident, but I think I can continue that streak into this year.”

Despite his rookie status, Clarida has impressed many judges and competitors thus far into his career, said Layne Norton, an International Fitness & Physique Association (IFPA_ Professional Bodybuilder.

“Shaun has very few weaknesses in his physique,” said Norton. “Even though his body weight may not be impressive, you can’t help but marvel the way that his physique gives the illusion of someone who is 30 pounds heavier.”

Clarida said he is not blind to the fact that inexperience may work against him in the worldwide competition.

“It’s like I’m starting all over again,” he said. “Some of the guys in the event have been competing a lot longer than me, and they may have more maturity than me. But even if I don’t win, it’ll at least serve as a learning experience.”

May 14 will mark the two-year anniversary that Clarida appeared in his first bodybuilding contest. He won his first professional card, as a member of the WNBF, on April 22, 2006, after winning a pair of events at International Natural Bodybuilding Federation (INBF) Northeast America Show in Nutley, N.J.

He won his second professional card, as a member of the United States Bodybuilding Federation (USBF), on Oct. 7, 2006, when he finished first overall at the New York State (NYS) Natural & Men’s Pro Masters in Binghamton, N.Y.

Such accomplishments in a short amount of time have impressed his challengers, said Norton.

“Shaun is somewhat of a bodybuilding prodigy,” said Norton. “If he ever puts it all together in terms of getting the little things right and nailing his conditioning, there are very few people who will want to stand on stage next to him.”

On Nov. 11, Clarida became the first bantamweight (150 pounds or less) to win first place overall at the World Championships of the International Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation (INBF) history, at Martin Luther King High School in New York City.
He weighed in that day at 136 pounds, with 2 to 3 percent body fat.